100 Most Entertaining Survivors #87: Rodger Bingham

Rodger Bingham got 5^th place on Survivor: The Australian Outback.

For those of you who don’t remember, this is Kentucky Joe AKA Rodger Bingham. It is people like Rodger which made me excited about the top 100 Most entertaining Survivors. Everyone remembers Coach and Russell, but it’s people like Rodger who tend to get overlooked, I hope to change that.

Once Rodger landed in Australia, nearly instantly he formed an alliance with Elisabeth. Actually, this was less of an alliance than it was a friendship. Rodger and Elisabeth kept this alliance for the entire game, until he got voted off at 5^th. Rodger also had a great Southern accent. Whenever he talked, you smiled because he was kind and seemed to be just one of the most genuine people to ever play the game.

Rodger played at a time before there was a lot of strategic gameplay. Today, he wouldn’t last very long in the game. However, at the time you could go a long way by being a nice person. Rodger also gave us a great story arc in the second episode. In this episode, the entire tribe had to jump off a cliff, into the water. Rodger had never swum in his life. However, he was able to get over his fear and jump off of the cliff. His tribe was proud of him, and the challenge continued.

There wasn’t any defining moment for Rodger in the game of Survivor. With the exception of his relationship with Elisabeth, there wasn’t one thing that you could point to and say “That is why he is entertaining.” However, if you have watched season 2, you know exactly what I am talking about. Rodger made this season fun. His overall demeanor and willingness to just be everyone’s friend and be on the game just to survive made him incredibly fun. At a point in time where NO ONE comes on Survivor “just for the experience,” Rodger seems like a fish out of water.

Overall, Kentucky Joe was incredibly fun to watch in Survivor: The Australian Outback. He made the season enjoyable to watch. While this isn’t the longest entry because he didn’t have any amazing moments, I don’t think that anyone will deny the fact that he was an incredibly entertaining person.

Thanks for reading. Please comment and rate!

Jeff